Cline
MCP-native autonomous coding agent inside VS Code. Plan/Act dual-mode workflow.
- License
- Apache-2.0
- Install
- vscode ext
- Website
- https://cline.bot
- GitHub
- https://github.com/cline/cline
code --install-extension saoudrizwan.claude-dev
GitHub Copilot
GitHub's AI pair programmer in VS Code, JetBrains, and the GitHub.com chat surface.
- License
- proprietary
- Install
- vscode ext
- Website
- https://github.com/features/copilot
- GitHub
- —
code --install-extension GitHub.copilot
When to reach for which
Cline — MCP-native autonomous coding agent inside VS Code. Plan/Act dual-mode workflow.
GitHub Copilot — GitHub's AI pair programmer in VS Code, JetBrains, and the GitHub.com chat surface.
Both sit in the AI Coding Agents category — they're substitutes, not complements. Pick by your install constraint (MCP-native, license, hosting model) and which tag overlap matters most to your stack.